Envelop-blank printing or embossing machine.



I. W. HUCKINS. BNVBLOP BLANK PRINTING 0R EMBossING MAGHINB.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 21, 1907.

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I. W. HUCKINS. ENVELOP BLANK PRINTING 0R EMBOSSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1907. l

Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

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A ro mmsl I. W. HUCKINS. ENVELOP BLANK PRINTING 0R BMBOSSING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1907.

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I. W. HUGKINS. ENVELOP BLANK PRINTING 0R BMBOSSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1907.

Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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BNVELOP BLANK PRINTING 0R BMBossING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYZI, 1907.

Patented N 0V. 24, 1914.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

IRVING W. HUCKINS, OF PHILADELFHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

rENVELOP-BLANK PRINTING?A 0R EMBDSSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led May 21, 1907. Serial No. 374,951.

T0 all whom t may concern Beit known that I, Invrno W. HUcKINs, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Envelop Blank Printing or Embossing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to insure the delivery of the blanks singly and in proper succession to the feeding devices of the machine; another object is to arrest the operation of the feeding mechanism of the machine in the event of the nen-delivery of a blank thereto; a still further object is to arrest the operation of the counting mechanism under like conditions; another object is to provide for the simultaneous printing and embossing of the blank, and a final objec-t is to insure the retention of the blank rigidly in its proper position while printing and embossing of the same is being effected. These objects I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in whichd Figure l is a side elevation of the machine locking in the direction of the arrow m, Fig. 4; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the machine on the line ao, Fig. 4; Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the machine looking in the direction of the arrow y, Fig. 4; Fig. 4 is a. view of the machine partly in plan and partly in sectional plan; Fig. 5 is a perspective view cf certain elements of the printing vand embossing mechanism; Fig. 6 is a sectional view on a larger scale of certain of the feeding devices of the machine; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of certain of the elements of the machine whereby the operation of the feeding devices'is arrested on failure' to supply a blank thereto, and Fig. 8 i s a perspective View of a mpper constitutlng one of the elements of the feeding mechanisrn.

In the drawing, 1-' -.1 represent the opposite side frames of the -machine which are rigidly connected and braced by means of suitable transverse girts 2 and plate 2a, and which are provided with bearings for the various shafts carrying the operating mechanism of themaehine.

The envelop blanks which are to be printed4 bear against the forward face of the transverse plate 2, and are normally pressed against the same by' means of a follower beard 3, said blanks being' also supported vertically upon rails 4, each carried by arms on a swinging shaft 5, so that said rails can be adjusted from and toward each other to accord with the length of the blanks and the shape of the lower .or flap portions of the Same, the plate 2, being provided with rollers 6, preferably covered with rubber or other frictional material. which serve to prevent the descent of one side of a blank-ahead of the other when its lower portion has been drawn forward beyond the ends of the supporting rails and it is not otherwise supported except by the hooked arm 7 which retains the lower end of the blank until it is drawn forward by the suction device hereafter described.

The suction separator comprises one or more depending' tubes 9 provided with noz- Zles at their lower ends and connected at their upper ends to a transverse tube 10 which is in communication, through a valved pipe connection 11, with a vacuum chamber 12,` from which the air is exhausted by a pump 13, the valve plug having a rocking movement imparted to it by means 'of a cam 14 on a rotating shaft 15 so as to alternately open and close communication between the tube l0 and the Vacuum chamber.

awinging movement is. imparted to the tubes 9 by means of cam 16`(.Fig. 3) on the shaft 15 which is geared by means of spur wheels 19 and 20 to a shaft 21 which constitutes one of the feed shafts of the machine and is driven by a belt 22 from a pulley 23 on the primary driving shaft 24, the latter. shaft having fast and loose pulleys side by side, so'that by shifting the driving belt` power may be applied to or cut olf from the machine,l as desired. y

The cam 16 acts upon an anti-friction rcller carried by an arm 25 on a shaft 26, which has another arm 27 -acted upon by a coiled spring 29 which tends to maintain the anti,friction` roller of the arm 25 constantly in contact with the cam 16,`said shaft 26 being connected to one end of a transverse bar oi' yoke 30 which carries the depending suction tubes 9 and is suitably pivoted at its opposite end coincident with the, axis of the shaft 26.`

The cam 14 acts upon an anti-friction roller carried by an arm 31 on the plug of the valve and the latter is so timed in respect to the cam which effects the swinging of the suction tubes 9 that when the nozzles of the latter swing forward and approach the lforemost blank of the series communication will Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

be established between said nozzles and the vacuum chamber, which communication will continue while the arms are swinging backwardly, so that the lower portion of the foremost blank` of the series will be caught and drawn away from the others for delivery to the feeding device, communication with the vacuum chamber being cut 0H on or before the time that the tubes 9 complete their rearward swing, so as to release the blank, whose lower edge is now in position to be' caught by a nipper 32 on the intermediate one of a series of forward feed disks 33, whereby the blank is carried forwardly between said disks and a plurality of small supporting disks 34, which are carried by a frame partially surrounding the outer feed disks 33 of the series.

The disks 33 are carried by the feed shaft 15, which has, in addition to the cams 14 and 16, another cam 35,the latter acting upon an anti-friction roller upon an arm 36 which is mounted upon a. shaft 37 having, at another point in its length, an arm 39 carrying a pivoted finger 40 which is forked at its upper end as shown in Fig. 4. Rising-andfalling movements will be thereby imparted to said finger 40 as the shaft 37 rocks in its bearings, and this movement is so timed that, as the lower portion of the blank is drawn forwardly by the suction nozzles, the forked upper end of the finger 40 will press upon the rear face of said lower portion of the blank and thereby prevent the same from swinging forwardly out of the range of the closing nipper 32, thus `increasing the certainty of action of the latter and lessening the chance of failure of the feeding devices to engage the successive blanks presented thereto.

The nipper 32 operates in a recess in the central feed disk 33, and is carried by a shaft 41 mounted in bearings in the adjoining feed disks, and rocking movement of said shaft, so as to cause the opening and closing movement of the nipper at the proper times in the rotation of the feed disks, is effected by mechanism well known in the art but forming no part of my present invention, and hence not necessary to be herein described.

The nipper 32 has, some distance fromfthe rear of its forward edge, a pair of projecting pins 42 which, when the nipper is closed against the feed disk, enter openings therein` these pins, by contact with the forward edge of the blank, serving to properly register the latter upon the disk and insure the subsequent presentation of the blank in accurate relation to the printing and embossing devices in order to lead to the proper placing upon the envelop of the impressions produced by. said devices.

rlhe central disk 33 has formed in it a segmental groove 43 with which coperates intieme a detector linger 44 carried by a shaft 45, upon which are two arms 46 and 47, the arm 4G being connected to a rod 49, which passes through one arm of a bell crank lever 50, hung to a suitable stud on one ofl l of the said arm, which is provided with a projecting toe 54 for the purpose hereinafter described. rThe vibration of the lever 50 thereby causes a rocking movement of the shaft tending to throw the detector linger 44 into the groove 43 of the feed disk 33, but, when a blank is being carried around by said disk, such movement of the detector finger is obstructed and the movement of the lever is therefore devoted to the compression of the spring 51, but, if no envelop blank ins present on the disk 33, the full yupward swing of the detector finger is permitted, said finger entering the groove 43. This causes the arm 47 of the shaft 45 to act through the medium of a rod 55 upon avnotched trigger 56, carried by one of a pair 0f retainer levers 57, which are secured to a transverse shaft 59, and to move said trigger into position to engage the toe 54 of the lever 50 as the latter approaches the limit of its upward movement.

Each of the levers 57 has anti-friction rollers engaging a slightly hooked portion of one of the opposite side frames 1*1 which carry the bearings for the upper shaft 21a, these side frames being pivoted to the fixed frames at 60'and being acted upon by coiled springs 61 (Figs. 1 and 3) which tend to raise them and thus elevate the upper shaft 21 in respect to the lower feed .shaft 21 when said frames 1a are freed from the control of the retaining levers 57. As a consequence of this construction the ab swinging frames 1a and permit the lifting movement of the latter.

The upper shaft 21 carries an embossing die 103 and a printing die or block 104. a

suitable counter die 103, and vcounter block 104a being carried by the lower shaft 21, which also hasa series of feed disks 100 (see Fig. 5) the intermediate disk of the series being equipped with an appropriate nipper or nippers 101 (Fig. 2) operated so as to engage'the forward edge of the blank,

as soon as it'has been released from the control of the nipper 32 of the disk 33. ySimilar disks 100 may also be provided at the ends of the upper shaft 21a if desired.

Bearing upon the peripheries of the disks 100 on eachl side of the central disk of the shaft 21 are a pair of presser disks 105, each carried by one arm of a lever 106, which is hung upon a transverse rod 107 of the machine frame and carries on its other arm an adjusting screw 109, the latter bearing upon a spring pressed socket 110 mounted on an arm 111 on the shaft 59. When, therefore, said shaft is operated so as to throw off the locking levers 57 and release the frames 1i not only will the printing surfaces of the embossing dies and printing blocks be separated from the counter dies and blocks, but the pressure yupon the levers 106 will be slackened or removed, and the presser disks 105 will be relieved from feeding contact with the disks 100 of the shaft 21, thereby arresting both the printing and feeding operations. At the same time that this result is effected the action of the suction separator and of the counting device with which the machine is usually provided should also be stopped until the abnormal condition which led to the failure of delivery of a blank to the feeding devices has been corrected, and these objects are attained in the following manner:

The shaft 59, which carries the retainer levers 57, has, at one end, an arm 62, to which is connected a rod 63 passing through an opening in a swivelblock 64 mounted upon an arm 65 on a shaft 66 which carries a hooked latch 67 for engagement with av throw it into engagement with the pin 69 v on the arm of the valve plug, and when said arm has been moved forwardly, corresponding `to the closed position of thevalve, the hooked forward end of the latch will engage with the pin 69 and hold the valve in such closed position until the retainer levers 57 have been again moved into their retaining position, such movement causing a suitable collar on the rod 63 to lift the latch 67 out of vengagement with the pin 69, and thereby permit of a further operation of th valve.

The counting device '73 is actuated by 'a crank 74 on a shaft 75, to which .rotative movement is imparted from thel shaft 37 by means of an arm 76 and a rod 77 carrying a pin 79 which engages with the teeth of a4 ratchet wheel 90 `on the shaft 75. Pivotally mounted on said shaft 75, how-ever, is a lever 91 and upon one arm of this lever rests the rod 77, the other arm of said lever being connected by a rod 92 to an arm 93 on the shaft 59, which carries the retainer levers, whereby when the latter are thrown forwardly to release the swinging frames l, the rod 77 will be lifted so as to carry its pin 79 out of engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 90, and thereby stop the operation of the counting mechanism until the yretainer levers have been reset and thev operation of the machine has been resumed.

In order to effect adjustment of the forked upper end of the retainer finger 40 in respect to the suction nozzles, said finger is connected to a downwardly pro]ecting arm 94, and the latter is connected, by a link 95, to an arm 96 adjustably mounted on a transverse bar orA shaft 97, so that by swinging said arm on the shaft in one direction or the other corresponding movement can be imparted to the forked upper end of the finger 40, the arm 96 being secured in position upon the shaft 97, after any such adjustment of the same, by tightening a set screw 99, (see Fig. 6).

Whenever a blank passes between the disks 100 of the shaftf21 and the presser disks 105 it will be gripped and subjected to such lateral tension thatI it can not be crimped or distorted by the action upon it of the embossing dies 103 and 1032*, whereby the envelop has the stamp impressed upon one cornerv of it, a result which would be very likely to follow in the absence of such y firm grip upon the blank.

lnking mechanism ofv any desired character may be employed for applying the ink to the embossing die and printing block of the upper shaft 21, and although I have shown certain mechanism for this purpose my invention is not limited thereto and no specific description -of the same will be necessary.

'1. Inl an envelop blank embossing machine, the combination of feeding and embossing devices for the envelop blanksfa nipper on said feeding device, a suction separator for delivering the blanks in succession to the feeding device, and means for retaining the forward edge of the blank in position for engagement by the nipper of the feeding device.

2. The combination, in an envelop blank printing or embossing machine, of feeding devices for the blanks, a suction separator for ldelivering the blanks in succession to 'said feedingl devices, said suction separator having a controlling valve, a detector operative on the failure of delivery of a blank to the feeding devices, and means under control of the detector for operating the control printing or embossing machine, of feeding devices for the blanks, counting mechanism therefor, la detector operative on failure of delivery of'a blank to the feeding mechanism, and means under control of said detector for stopping the operation of the counting device.

5. The combination, in an envellop blank printing or embossing machine, of feeding devices for the blanks, counting mechanism therefor, a detector operative on failure of delivery of a blank to the feeding mechanism, and means under control vof said detector for arresting the feeding devices and stopping the operation of the counting device.

6. T he combination, in an envelop blank printing or embossing machine, of devices for feeding the blanks, a suction separator forI delivering the blanks in succession to said feeding devices, counting mechanism for-the blanks, a detector operative upon failure to deliver a lblank to the feeding mechanism, and means under control of said detector for stopping the action of the suction separator and counting mechanism.

y7. The combination, in an envelop blank printing or embossing machine, of devices -for feeding the blanks, a suction .separator for delivering the blanks in succession to said feeding devices, counting fmechanism for the blanks, a detector operativeupon failure to deliver a blank to the. feeding 8. 'llhe combination, in an envelop blank -embossing machinejof. feeding devices, a suction separator for: deliveringtlie blanks in succession to said feeding devices, a retainer movable inV respect lt0, said suction separator, and acting upoiithe forward edge of mienne the blank to hold the same in 'position for Vengagement by the feeding mechanism, and

means for changin the position of said retainer independent y of its operative movement but in the direction of said movement. 9. r:lhe combination, in an envelop blank printing or embossing machine, of feed-ing devices for the blank, a suction separator for v in operative position, a detector operative on failure of delivery of the blank to the feeding devices, means whereby said detector is caused to open said latch, and a yielding device through which said detector operates to close the latch. f

11. The combination, in an envelop blankprinting or embossing machine, of feeding devices for the blank comprising a shaft with disks thereon, presser disks coperating therewith, sprin -pressed carriers for said presser disks, a etector operative upon failure ofdelivery of a blank tothe feeding devices, and means under control of said detector, for relieving the pressure upon. said disk-carriers.

12. rlhe combination, in an. envelo blank printing or embossing machine, o blank feeding devices including'a feed roll carried by pivoted'members of the frame which are acted upon by springs tending to' moveI the feedroll out of operative position, a locking device for retaining said pivoted-members of the frame and holding the feed roll in operative position, a trigger carried by said locking device, a cam-actuated lever, and a detector whereby said trigger is normally held out of engagement with said cam-actuated lever, but is permitted to move into engagement therewith on failure ofdelivery ofa blank to thefeeding devices.

ln testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

' v IRWIN G W. HUClNS.

Witnesses:

WILSON fl. EHERT, C. H. GENTRY. 

